1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to radiator mounting structures and, more particularly, to a radiator mounting structure in which a radiator can be moved rearwardly when an external force exceeding a given value is applied to the radiator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various radiator mounting structures have heretofore been proposed in the art as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication (Kokai) No. SHO-60-46335 entitled xe2x80x9cRadiator Support Structure For Vehiclexe2x80x9d and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication (Kokai) No. SHO-60-47826 entitled xe2x80x9cRadiator Support With Gap Adjustment Functionxe2x80x9d.
In the radiator support structure disclosed in Kokai No. SHO-60-46335, the radiator has its bottom portion mounted on a lower cross member by means of brackets and resilient members, while the radiator has, at its upper portion, formed with boss portions fitted into respective, resilient cylindrical shaped members which are mounted to an upper cross member by means of brackets and resilient members.
In the radiator support disclosed in Kokai No. SHO-60-47826, the radiator has its lower portion mounted on a vehicle body by means of lower radiator supports and its upper portion mounted to the vehicle body by means of support metal fittings and an upper radiator support.
Recently, it has been proposed in the prior art to have the vehicle equipped with a damping device such as a hood having its front end formed with plastic, or a hood with its weakened frame stiffness for thereby protecting an obstacle from being applied with an excessive impact due to hood""s distortion during collision of the hood against the obstacle to be protected.
However, notwithstanding the provision of such a damping device on the hood, protective distortion of the hood is restricted by the radiator when the latter is mounted under the hood.
Where the hood having the above-noted damping device is combined with the radiator mounting structure of Kokai No. SHO-60-46335, a sufficient gap or distance cannot be provided between the hood and the radiator for thereby fully alleviating the impact force acting on the obstacle. To this end, the vehicle is required to have a large engine room or compartment. This results in drawbacks in that a structural design of the vehicle is restricted and, for example, the vehicle length inevitably increases with a resultant increase in the weight of the vehicle.
Even in a case where the above hood is combined with the radiator support structure of Kokai No. SHO-60-47826, similar drawbacks are encountered, as those in the structure of Kokai No. SHO-60-46335, because of the arrangement in that the radiator is not readily moved rearward due to the hood""s distortion or the radiator is not collapsible.
The present invention has been attained in view of the above-described inadequacies of the related art. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a radiator mounting structure which enables sufficient alleviation of an impact force to be applied to an obstacle without restricting structural designing.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a radiator mounting structure designed to be connected to a front part of a vehicle body, the front part having an upper and lower cross members, which structure comprises: a radiator having an upper end with an upright pin; a front grill located in front of the radiator and having a projection projecting toward the radiator; a lower supporting structure mounted to the lower cross member for sustaining a lower end of the radiator such that the radiator can make a tilting movement in a rearward direction of the vehicle body; and an upper supporting structure mounted to the upper cross member and having resilient supporting means for resiliently sustaining the upright pin so as to enable the pin to disengage from the resilient means when the radiator is applied via the projection with an impact force larger than a given magnitude.
In this arrangement, when the hood is deformed for some reasons such as, for example, when the hood collides against the obstacle, the front grill is moved rearward to cause the projections thereof to press the radiator. As a result, the radiator is applied with a force greater than the given value in a rearward direction, the upper support pin of the radiator is removed from the resilient support means and, accordingly, the radiator is tilted rearward around a center of the lower support pin. Thus, the impact force applied by the obstacle is effectively absorbed within a limited space and, at the same time, the hood can be deformed to a sufficient extent.
In a preferred form, the resilient support means comprises a bracket fixedly secured to the upper cross member and having a mounting bore, and a resilient support rubber member fitted to the mounting bore and having an engagement bore to fit therein the upper support pin.